Frozen
by BitShortForAStormtrooper
Summary: Leia's POV of the carbon freezing- a follow up to my story Solo.


**Disclaimer: **I'm just the same as everyone else- I don't own Star Wars or these characters, but I wish I did.

**Frozen**

I woke up, my head still pounding like mad. I lay on the bunk and stared up at the ceiling, trying to ignore the pain in my stomach.

"Hey, Princess," Han.

I moved my head to look at him, sitting on one of the other bunks in the cell. "Hi," my throat was sore from lack of use and no water, so my voice was dry and quiet. Han got up and moved over to me with one of the bottles of water that the Imperials had given us.

He cradled my head with his other hand as he helped me drink. "You feel better?"

I shrugged as I finished off the last of the bottle. "I guess. Sorry I was sick."

He managed a small smile. "Hey, don't worry 'bout it."

There was something different in his eyes, and though I couldn't name it, it scared me. "What?" I asked, struggling to sit up.

Han couldn't meet my eyes and had to look away at the ground. "We've got a few minutes before the Imps come back," he told me quietly. "They're taking us somewhere else, and something tells me we're not coming back."

I nodded, since I'd been suspecting it for some time. None of us were stupid- we knew this was bad, and there wasn't a good chance of us getting out of it alive.

Words failed to convey what I wanted to say in that moment- I'm sorry, don't leave me, I'm really scared, I don't want to die… but, most of all: I love you so much it frightens me, a million times over. Instead, I asked, "Where's Chewie?"

"He's taken Threepio to try and find something to carry him in, since he refuses to dismantle him and put him in that box," Han replied," That's why we're not going now- I guess Chewie was buying us some time," he added with a rueful smile.

I'm not sure what, but something in my expression must've made him stop putting on a brave face; he knew I wasn't buying it.

He took a seat at the foot of the bunk, and took my hand in both of his. I looked at it, our hands like that, mine small and pale against his- they were rough and callused, the hands of a man who'd spend half his life working on machines.

"Leia."

Raising my eyes, I matched his gaze, fixed squarely on me. He didn't say anything but instead gently reached out and tucked a loose lock of hair behind my ear.

I could feel his hand trembling.

"Do I look messy?" I asked him, aware of my tangled hair that had come loose during my torture.

"No," he whispered, shaking his head slightly, "you look beautiful."

Despite myself, I felt my cheeks flush. "Can you tie my hair up, again?"

He just nodded and gestured for me to turn around. I did so, and we sat there in silence as he twisted my hair up into braids and pinned them in place.

After he'd done, I lent back into his embrace, and we held each other, trusting our touch to share what our voices couldn't.

We were still like that when the Imperials returned.

When you're moments from death, you only pay attention to the small things. The stormtroopers lead us through a series of corridors, many ones I'd never seen before, but I barely acknowledged them. Threepio, now tied to Chewie's back with a piece of netting, constantly begged and pleaded with the Imperials to let him go. Eventually, his voice also faded into the background.

The only two things left in the galaxy were the back of Han's head and the next bit of ground in front of me, helping me hold onto reality as we walked.

They'd cuffed Han, but had left the rest of us free- I wasn't sure what that meant, but hoped that at least one of us would get out of here.

I had visited mining worlds before, with my father, so I recognised the carbon freezing chamber instantly. Why were we being led here? They froze tibanna gas here, for easy transportation- it was a bit of a strange place for an execution, surely.

Lando stood on the platform, watching the workers preparing the chamber, and on the opposite side, across the pit, was Vader.

"What's going on…buddy?"

I heard Han ask Lando, briefly caught the other's reply that made my blood run cold. "You're being put into carbon freeze."

_No. No, no, no. _I couldn't bare to look at Han, and I wandered away from the others so I was close enough to hear Vader talking to the bounty hunter, Boba Fett.

"What if he dies? He's worth a lot to me."

"The Empire will compensate you if he dies." Vader assured him and I glared at him, thinking: _Who's going to compensate Chewie and I, you bastard?_ "Put him in!"

Chewie's angry snarl made me turn to look, as the powerful Wookiee threw two of the stormtroopers off the platform. I had to bite my lip to stop myself smiling as the guards rushed forwards, because against Chewie they had no chance.

But before he could do any more damage, Han reached out to stop him. "Chewie! Chewie, this won't help me." He talked quietly to his friend, so softly I couldn't make out the words, but it seemed to calm Chewie down.

I moved closer, touching the Wookiee's arm to quiet him. Han's gaze slid to me- for a moment we looked deep into each other's eyes, then he stepped forward and pressed his lips to mine.

I shut my eyes and let everything blend into one, trying to ignore everything around me. My heart began to pound fiercely in my chest, and as the kiss continued I struggled to breathe.

When the sharp cold of the chamber replaced the familiar warmth of Han's lips, I snapped my eyes open and watched, powerless, as a pair of stormtroopers pulled him away to the hydraulic platform.

I realised in that moment that I may never see him again- I had to say it, now, or risk leaving it unsaid forever.

"I love you!"

He paused before he replied, his hazel eyes haunted through the smoke of the chamber. " I know."

Though that was all he said, I heard the meaning behind it, the way his voice almost caught when he spoke. As the workers undid the binders, I stepped back and Chewie took my hand. _I'd said it_. That was all that mattered.

With a jolt, the platform began to lower; Han watched us until the steam almost blocked his vision, a half smile on his face. Then a hiss, and a cloud of steam, as Han threw his chin up in one last act of defiance as it engulfed him.

Chewie pulled me close to him, allowing me to bury my face into his fur. As the process began, I started to cry.

As my scoundrel froze, my heart froze with him.


End file.
